Washington wants to block Microsoft’s record takeover of Activision in the name of competition interests

A major operation could fail. The US competition regulator, the Federal Trade Commission, filed a complaint on Thursday, December 8, to block the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the publisher of successful video games like Activision Blizzard. Call of dutyby Microsoft.

If the process ends, “The Xbox maker will gain control over its leading franchises, enabling it to hurt competition in high-performance game consoles and subscription services by denying or diluting competitors’ access to its popular content.” Justifies the agency in a press release.

Concerns also in Europe

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision is also threatened by Brussels, which also fears an attack on competition and announced on Tuesday the opening of an in-depth investigation. The European Commission, the EU’s competition protector, was particularly concerned that Microsoft could do this “Securing access to Activision Blizzard video games” For consoles and PCs, including CAll dutyand it tempts to set up Strategies for expelling competing distributors.

In the video game sector in full consolidation, Microsoft, which markets the Xbox console and has several development studios, announced in January the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, also a publisher of songs such as World of Warcraft And the candy crush For $ 69 billion, which is a record amount for the sector.

Brad Smith, the head of Microsoft, was quick to respond to the news. We continue to believe that this agreement will drive competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers.was his reaction to US media The Verge (article in English). He suggests that his company does not intend to stop there : “While we believe that peace should be given a chance, we have complete confidence in our cause and would welcome the opportunity to argue our case in court.”